A Fresh Look at Vegetables

Stuck thinking of veggies as a side dish — or worse, a garnish? Patricia Wells shows us how to put these delicious, nutritious powerhouses center stage at any meal.

We’ve all heard the news by now: Eat more vegetables! They’re good for your heart, good for your waistline, good for your immune system and good for you in just about every other way science can measure. Yet, just because you’ve heard the good news about vegetables doesn’t mean you have any idea how to make the healthy changes that would put them at the center of your diet.

“I remember once I was in the produce market and I thought, ‘Oh no, what am I going to cook for dinner tonight?’ And then I thought, ‘I’m Patricia Wells, I should know that!'” Wells laughed at the memory during a recent phone conversation from her home in Provence, France, but she admitted that sometimes deciding to make healthy changes can present challenges – even for food experts.

To help her, and the rest of us, move vegetables out of the margins and into the mainstream, Wells wrote Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate (William Morrow Cookbooks, 2007). “When I started the book, these old cultural habits I didn’t even know I had suddenly became so vivid to me,” Wells told me. “And I realized, ‘Oh my God, I only have two ways of cooking zucchini! I only have two ways of cooking asparagus. That can’t be enough.’ Something comes into season and we do the same-old same-old with it – but we forget about all the combinations that are possible.”

The possible combinations Wells has set out in her book have the funny effect of seeming both completely surprising and, in the way that good recipes do, completely natural and right. Pumpkin is baked in a gratin with pistachios (see below). Brussels sprouts are sauteed with garlic and olive oil, asparagus is braised with rosemary, cauliflower is pureed into a smooth and light mixture, and fresh veggies are chopped into a delicious and colorful salad.

I asked Wells whether working with all of these vegetables changed her own day-to-day eating. “Oh, definitely,” she said. First, she realized that too many recipe writers present vegetables as marginal foods – something only vegetarians eat, or something secondary to the primary focus of the plate, meat. Second, she realized that the best way to work vegetables into your life is to cook backward: Start with what looks best at your market, and then come up with a recipe; don’t approach things vice versa. If that means you end up toting a recipe book with you on a few market runs, so be it!

“Don’t think of vegetables as penance, think of them as a creative adventure and a cheap thrill,” Wells suggests. “In my classes, we always challenge two students to make a salad out of something from the garden,” she said of the cooking classes she hosts at her home. “Sometimes it’s something with lettuce, but sometimes it’s a salad made entirely of green beans. They make up the recipe on the spot, and it becomes very funny, very competitive; it opens up a whole new way of thinking about food. It’s not, ‘What recipe do I have?’ Instead it’s, ‘What’s here?'”

But what if, I ask, the salad you invent is a flop? “That’s one of the things I love about vegetables,”responds Wells. “They’re such a cheap thrill: If something really doesn’t work, you can toss it; it’s not like you’re working with foie gras”

If the idea of spontaneous vegetable cooking appeals to you, you might even think of sending off for some seed catalogs. “Before I put in my garden, I had never really seen how eggplant grew,” Wells said. “It really helps when you go out and see what vegetables look like when they’re growing. Although, even supermarket vegetables today are so much better than what they were just a few years ago. I’ve been watching some old Julia Child shows lately, and some of the ingredients she had were just so horrific. I was watching one show where she had the most shriveled, awful potatoes, and I thought, ‘Who would use those potatoes?'”

Certainly not someone dedicated to moving vegetables to the center of her plate. It seems the good news about vegetables doesn’t end with their myriad health benefits – not only are the vegetables today better than they’ve ever been, but the recipes are, too.

Recipe: Sauteed Brussels Sprouts With Garlic and Olive Oil

Peel away and separate the leaves of the Brussels sprouts. Discard the cores. In a large skillet, combine the oil, garlic and salt. Cook over moderate heat, just until the garlic is golden, two to three minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts leaves, and cook just until crisp, two to three minutes more. Season to taste. Serve immediately.

Recipe excerpted from Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate by Patricia Wells (William Morrow Cookbooks, 2007).

Recipe: Pumpkin Gratin With Pistachios

3 cups cooked pumpkin or squash (butternut is a good choice), still hot

Preheat the broiler. In a food processor or blender, combine the squash, stock, oil and salt, and puree them. Taste for seasoning. Transfer the puree to a gratin dish, smoothing out with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with cheese. Sprinkle with pistachio nuts. Place under the broiler just until the cheese is melted and the nuts are toasted - two to three minutes.

In a large saucepan, combine the cauliflower, milk, cream and salt, and simmer, uncovered, over medium heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir from time to time to prevent the cauliflower from sticking to the pan. Drain, reserving the liquid, and transfer to a food processor or blender. Process to blend. Add the butter and nutmeg, and process to a fine puree. Add just enough of the reserved liquid to give it a smooth, light consistency. Season to taste. Serve warm.

Recipe excerpted from Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate by Patricia Wells (William Morrow Cookbooks, 2007).

Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl is a celebrated food and wine critic. Nominated seven times for James Beard Awards - the Oscars of the food world she received four awards for her restaurant and wine columns. Since 2001, her work has been regularly featured in the Best Food Writing anthologies.

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This was delicious! To save time, I used Cascadian Farms’ organic frozen pureed butternut squash. No broth needed…simply top with cheese/pistachios and broil. At the very end, sprinkle with pistachio oil.

Homemade stocks are not a vestige of a bygone era or the exclusive territory of professional chefs. They’re a healthy, thrifty, practical tradition — and a great way to make the most of stuff that might otherwise go bad in your fridge.

In the final session of Experience Life‘s A Healthy Revolution 2014, Congressman Tim Ryan (OH) talks with founding editor Pilar Gerasimo about the important role citizens play in creating policy change and simple ways we can incorporate a whole-foods approach to eating in our everyday lives.